The Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) at Los Angeles County High School of the Arts (YOLA at LACHSA) choir and musicians, led by new YOLA conductor Juan Felipe Molano, open the program with Tito Puente’s Oye como va. The program also includes selected movements from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Piazolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, with LA Phil Principal Concertmaster Martin Chalifour as the soloist. The concert concludes with Milhaud’s Le boeuf sur le toit.

Selected as a 2013/14 Gustavo Dudamel Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Daniel Cohen conducted the orchestra in several concerts throughout 2013/14. A rising star in both concert and opera, Daniel Cohen has conducted orchestras including the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Montpellier, the Orchestra dell Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Maggio Musicale in Florence and the Orchestra dell’ Arena di Verona.

Martin Chalifour began his tenure as Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1995. The recipient of various grants and awards in his native Canada, he graduated with honors from the Montreal Conservatory at the age of 18 and then moved to Philadelphia to pursue studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Chalifour received a Certificate of Honor at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and is also a laureate of the Montreal International Competition. Apart from his LA Phil duties he maintains an active solo career, playing a diverse repertoire of more than 50 concertos. Chalifour has appeared as soloist with conductors Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Neville Marriner, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Outside the U.S., he has played solos with the Auckland Philharmonia, the Montreal Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Malaysian Philharmonic, among others. Chalifour began his orchestral career with the late Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, playing as Associate Concertmaster for six years. Subsequently he occupied the same position for five years in the Cleveland Orchestra, where he also served as Acting Concertmaster under Christoph von Dohnányi. While in Cleveland, Chalifour taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a founding member of the Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio. Chalifour is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals, including the Sarasota Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Mainly Mozart Festival. Maintaining close ties with his native country, he has returned there often to teach and perform as soloist with various Canadian orchestras, most recently with the Vancouver Symphony and Bramwell Tovey.

Graduated with honors from the Vienna Conservatory, currently Artistic Director of El Sistema Salinas in California, and for the last six years National Symphonic Director of Batuta Colombian National System of Youth Orchestras, Juan Felipe Molano divides his musical activities between pedagogy and conducting. He became Music Director and Principal Conductor of Yucatan Symphony Orchestra in Mexico from 2003-2008, which has since become one of Mexico’s most prestigious orchestras. European appearances include orchestras in Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Slovakia and Austria. Molano has led prominent orchestras in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and the USA: YOA Orchestra of Americas, Bogota Philharmonic, Colombian National Symphony, Cali Philharmonic, Medellin Philharmonic, Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana, Euskadi Ikasleen Orkestra, OSUANL, Morelia Symphony, Mexico Politecnico Nacional Symphony, working with artists such as: Plácido Domingo, Ryu Goto, Cuarteto latinoamericano, Ilya Gringolts, among others. He is a frequent presenter for the El Sistema movement around the world.

Since fall of 2007, YOLA (Youth Orchestra LA) has grown to serve 700 students, ages 6-18, in South L.A., the Rampart District and East L.A. YOLA partners share costs and program management responsibilities. The YOLA initiative currently consists of three programs: YOLA at EXPO, YOLA at HOLA, and YOLA at LACHSA. YOLA at LACHSA engages 140 students, ages 8-11. High school students at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts act as mentors to their younger YOLA counterparts. YOLA at LACHSA is a partnership between the LA Phil and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s neighborhood concerts in the community include free orchestra, chamber music and jazz concerts in churches, community centers and other local venues around Southern California. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has been presenting free neighborhood concerts for over 20 years, as part of the organization’s dedication to making music accessible to the widest possible audience.

Since 1994, the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State L.A. has presented cutting-edge professional music, dance, theatre, and visual arts from around the world to the Los Angeles community. Nearly 20 years ago, the Luckman's opening night gala performance was the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of then-Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State L.A. is located at 5151 State University Drive. Parking is available on-site in the lot directly in front of the main entrance with the use of a valid permit. Permits can be purchased for $1 per hour at the yellow kiosks located throughout the parking lot. Admission to this performance is free, and no tickets are required. More information may be obtained by calling the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at 323.343.6600.

The concert is free and seating is General Admission. No tickets are required. Parking is available on-site in the lot directly adjacent to the front of the Complex entrance with the use of a valid permit. Permits can be purchased for $1 per hour at the yellow permit kiosks located throughout the parking lot. More information is available by calling 323.343.6600.